Investigators have recovered the tail elevator of a Learjet 60 that crashed into a Florida street, with the piece found between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the main impact site, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Tom Chapman.
Federal investigators believe key components began separating from the aircraft before it crashed in Greenacres, near West Palm Beach, on Sunday. It remains undetermined if this separation caused the crash or was a result of the plane's nosedive.
The crash occurred eight miles from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, but officials have confirmed no link to the Secret Service's recently implemented no-fly zone and heightened security measures. Chapman described the timing as "entirely coincidental."
The private jet, piloted by Jeff Gregory, was en route from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it went down. Aboard were tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their two young children, Emma and Charlie, as well as friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and the children's nanny, Anita Maria Cetina.
Before the crash, co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras reported to air traffic control that the aircraft was experiencing severe turbulence and accumulating ice. She noted significant altitude changes and the plane banking sharply. Her final transmissions included a distressed warning before the jet impacted the ground, creating a crater and erupting in flames.
NTSB officials stated that the pilots had requested to gain altitude when they encountered a thunderstorm moments before the aircraft spiraled. Aviation experts have suggested the plane may have entered a "coffin corner" scenario, a flight condition with a narrow margin between stall speed and maximum operating speed at high altitudes.
A preliminary report is expected in about a month, but a final determination of the crash's cause will likely take over a year. Gregory, 55, held advanced pilot certifications, and Filgueiras was 20 years old.